Regional News category, Page 289
‘It cannot get worse’: Airlines see fewest travelers since 9/11 attacks
The number of people boarding flights in the United States reached a new low Tuesday, with likely the fewest travelers in a single day since flights were grounded in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Transportation Security Administration said 87,534 people boarded flights Tuesday, down 96% from...
Online sales keep Western Pa. breweries, distilleries, wineries in business during coronavirus pandemic
In the age of coronavirus, we drink alone. But sales figures from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, based on heavy traffic to its Fine Wine & Good Spirits website, and reports from distilleries and wineries in the region since the covid-19 pandemic shut down the Keystone State a month ago...
Pennsylvania launches task force to address coronavirus outbreaks among minorities
The governor’s office on Wednesday announced a new task force aimed at analyzing and addressing disproportionate coronavirus outbreaks in minority communities across Pennsylvania. The goal of the Covid-19 Response Task Force for Health Disparity is to identify disparities and make recommendations to Gov. Tom Wolf on how to address the...
Cops: 3 SCI-Somerset inmates to be charged with assaulting guards
Three inmates at SCI-Somerset will be charged with assault after allegedly throwing feces at corrections officers in the state prison’s restricted housing unit earlier this month, state police said. The first of two alleged incidents happened on April 6 in the Somerset Township facility when two corrections officers were walking...
How should you spend your stimulus check? Here is what experts say
The check is not in the mail. But that big coronavirus stimulus check — up to $1,200 for singles, $2,400 for married couples and an extra $500 for each qualified child — might be in your bank account if the IRS has direct deposit information on you. Some families will...
Coronavirus pandemic continues to impact financial health of colleges, universities
Less than a month into a shutdown that forced colleges and universities across the country to transition to online classes, covid-19 is exposing new fractures in higher education. When students were forced to leave campus months before the end of the spring semester, residential campuses had to come up with...
Pennsylvania orders businesses to turn away customers who don’t wear masks
Customers and employees will soon be required to wear masks inside businesses still operating, and those who don’t wear masks will be denied entry, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Wednesday. The order, which includes dozens of other requirements, will go into effect 8 p.m. Sunday. It dictates...
Who is tracking your smartphone data during coronavirus pandemic?
Smartphone companies have always gathered data on their users. But in the weeks since the covid-19 pandemic gained traction in the U.S., special attention has been given to data’s role in curbing the spread of the disease. Experts say data can be used to trace individuals’ contact with others who...
Pennsylvania coronavirus deaths rise to 647 as total cases top 26,000
Coronavirus deaths in Pennsylvania crested 600 on Wednesday, though the total number of new cases remained below 1,200 for the second straight day. In numbers reported throughout Tuesday, 63 more people died from the virus statewide, bringing the death toll to 647. The Department of Health reported 1,145 new cases....
Goodwill stores in Pa. open no-contact donation centers
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania is accepting donations again after closing its 27 stores in the state a month ago amid nonessential business shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic. No-contact, self-service donation areas at each of the organization’s store locations in Pennsylvania opened this week to accept donations from 9 a.m....
5 things to know on what would have been Tax Day
It’s tax day, or at least it would have been. When coronavirus turned the world on its axis, Congress and the Pennsylvania General Assembly reacted quickly to provide temporary relief. So, here are five things you need to know today: 1. The deadline for filing federal income tax returns has...
Region’s airports get $46.2 million in coronavirus-related grants
Pittsburgh International Airport will get a $36 million federal grant to help cope with the impact of coronavirus-related shutdowns. The grant represents the lion’s share of the $46.2 million provided to airports in Western Pennsylvania. The Federal Aviation Administration grants to the state’s 63 airports were part of the CARES...
State police: As gun sales increased, so did background checks during coronavirus pandemic
Uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and business shutdowns ordered to control it appear to be good for the gun business in Pennsylvania. A surge in gun sales that started in mid-March as Pennsylvania’s coronavirus cases began to steadily increase caused a 14.4% year-to-year increase in the number of background...
Fayette, Westmoreland residents support dairy farmer struggling through coronavirus pandemicVideo
Ben Brown said he was nervous Tuesday morning when he answered the telephone call from his wife, Mary Beth, as he was busy in the barn during a 24-hour shift pasteurizing milk on the family’s dairy farm in Fayette County. “The farm store wasn’t supposed to open for another hour...
Pair charged with growing hallucinogenic mushrooms in Indiana
Pennsylvania State Police arrested two people for allegedly growing hallucinogenic mushrooms in an Indiana Borough apartment. The suspects are a 39-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman. Charges are pending, and police have not identified the suspects to the public. Investigators received a tip about the apartment on the 900 block...
Gov. Wolf says states — not president — should decide when to lift coronavirus restrictions
Gov. Tom Wolf said he believes it should be left to state governments — not the president — to decide when and how to loosen restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. “We had the responsibility for addressing the needs that we all had, and that involved closing...
Signs of encouragement appear in windows across Western Pa.
It’s a sign of the times. People hunkered down in their homes waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to recede can’t help sending messages to the outside world. While many are dispatching to a broad audience via social media, others are taking a rather analog approach. Messages of support and encouragement...
Pennsylvania reports 60 more coronavirus deaths as total hits 584
Sixty more people across Pennsylvania died from the coronavirus, state health officials said Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said 1,146 new cases of covid-19 were reported Monday, bringing the state’s running tally to 25,345. There were 1,366 new cases reported Monday and 1,178 on Sunday. The death toll now...
Missing Fayette County woman discovered safe, troopers say
A Fayette County woman missing since last week was found safe, according to Pennsylvania State Police in Uniontown. Karissa Nicola, 30, was reported missing after she didn’t return from a walk along East Main Street in New Salem on Friday, police said. Troopers said public tips aided authorities in locating...
Drive-in theaters face uncertainty as coronavirus continues to spread
Drive-in theaters appear tailor-made for social distancing: Expansive fields of grass let vehicles park more than six feet apart, providing families with a safe night out in relative isolation. Yet drive-ins are subject to the conditions facing most businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Local drive-ins have sat empty since Gov....
Carnegie Science Center offers resources for online classes
Now that the covid-19 crisis has forced Pennsylvania schools to turn to online instruction for the remainder of the academic year, Carnegie Science Center is offering to help educators. The resources being offered include educational activities, videos and lesson plans on Carnegie Science Center’s new Online Educator Resources page. The...
Giant Eagle to have one-way aisles to combat coronavirus
Be sure to follow the traffic patterns the next time you’re in Giant Eagle. In an effort to step up the company’s fight to slow the spread of coronavirus, the supermarket chain is implementing one-way aisles. One-way signs will be added to the floors of each aisle to direct shoppers...
Ohio cuts off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in Pennsylvania border counties
Ohio is cutting off liquor sales to out-of-state residents in counties bordering Pennsylvania, a response to “repeated instances” of Pennsylvanians going to Ohio solely to buy liquor, Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Any other time, we’d love to have visitors from PA, but right now this creates an unacceptable public health...
Pennsylvania launches coronavirus job hiring portal
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry launched a job portal Monday, focusing on life-sustaining businesses that are hiring during the covid-19 pandemic. “Many life-sustaining businesses across Pennsylvania are hiring, and this new portal will help connect them with people looking for a job,” said Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry...
Pennsylvania State Police training academy closed after staffer positive for covid-19
The Pennsylvania State Police training academy in Hershey will be closed for at least two weeks because a staff member tested positive for covid-19, state police said. The closure impacts 100 cadets, who will continue online instruction from home. Classes for the cadet class had been the only activities at...
